NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 5 When People Rebel 1857 and After

Class 8 History Chapter 5 When People Rebel 1857 and After InText Questions and Answers

Activity (Page 52)

Question 1.
Imagine you are a sepoy in the Company army, advising your nephew not to take employment in the army. What reasons would you give?
Answer:

A sepoy has a life full of trouble. He has to wander here and there frequently.
His social mobility is almost lost. He cannot spend much time with his family.
He does the duties of a sepoy at the cost of his family duties. He has no time to take care of his old parents.
His fife is always at risks. His sudden death shatters the lives of many in his family.

Activity (Page 55)

Question 1.
What were the important concerns in the minds of the people according to Sitaram and according to Vishnubhatt?
Answer:

According to Sitaram – People were mostly annoyed due to the seizing of Oudh. However, the news of the use of grease made using fat of cow and pig in the rifle was also an important concern in the minds of the people.
According to Vishnubhatt – People feared that the British were determined to wipe out the religions of the Hindus and the Muslims so as to make them Christians.

Question 2.
What role did they think the rulers were playing? What role did the sepoys seem to play?
Answer:

The rulers were provocating the sepoys in the name of religion to stage a mutiny against the British. They were making lies and false promises to persuade the sepoy to revolt.
The sepoy was spreading the news of interference in the religious matter among the fellows of other cantonments. They were making plans to revolt against the British to save their religion.

Activity (Page 58)

Question 1.
Why did the Mughal emperor agree to support the rebels?
Answer:
After capturing the Meerut cantonment, the sepoy marched to Delhi. The sepoy from Delhi Cantonment also revolted and killed the officials. These sepoys entered the red fort and proclaimed Bahadur Shah as their leader. So, Bahadur Shah, however, was not willing, had to agree to support the rebels.

Question 2.
What role did they think the rulers were playing? What role did the sepoys seem to play?
Answer:

The rulers were provocating the sepoys in the name of religion to stage a mutiny against the British. They were making lies and false promises to persuade the sepoy to revolt.
The sepoy was spreading the news of interference in the religious matter among the fellows of other cantonments. They were making plans to revolt against the British to save their religion.

Activity (Page 58)

Question 2.
Write a paragraph on the assessment he may have made before accepting the offer of the sepoys.
Answer:

Bahadur Shah knew that he was old enough to lead the rebels. He was not able to move here and there which was inevitable.
He was aware of the might and strength of the British.
At the same time, he knew the value of the name of his dynasty. He was aware of the initial victory of the rebels.
He might have presumed that most of. the sepoys would revolt and this way the British would become weakened itself.
He also knew that the rulers who had lost their regions to the British would definitely come ahead to support them.

Activity (Page 59)

Question 1.
Make a list of places where the uprising took place in May, June, and July 1857.
Answer:
May-1857 – Meerut, Delhi
June – Kanpur
July – Lucknow

Let’s Imagine (Page 64)

Question 1.
Imagine you are a British officer in Awadh during the rebellion. What would you do to keep your plans of fighting the rebels a top-secret?
Answer:

I would do personal meetings with the higher British officials.
I would convey all the messages to the concerned British authorities through English men and not through the Indians. They might leak the message.
I would try to discuss my plans personally and sitting face to face and not through the papers that might fall into the hands of rebels.
I would keep watch on all Indians whether bearing higher or smaller ranks and posts.

Class 8 History Chapter 5 When People Rebel 1857 and After Exercise Questions and Answers

Let’s recall

Question 1.
What was the demand of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi that was refused by the British?
Answer:
Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi wanted the Company to recognize her adopted son as the heir to the kingdom after the death of her husband. But the British refused her plea.

Question 2.
What did the British do to protect the interests of those who converted to Christianity?
Answer:
The Indians who converted to Christianity were allowed to inherit the property of their ancestors.

Question 3.
What objections did the sepoys have to the new cartridges that they were asked to use?
Answer:
The sepoys objected that the new cartridges that they were asked to use were coated with the fat of cows and pigs.

Question 4.
How did the last Mughal emperor live the last years of his life?
Answer:
The last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar spent the last years of his life in the jail in Rangoon (in present-day Myanmar). There he died in Nov. 1862.

Let’s discuss

Question 5.
What could be the reasons for the confidence of the British rulers about their position in India before May 1857?
Answer:
The reasons are given below:

1. Since the mid-18th century Nawabs and Rajas had gradually lost their authority and honour. Residents had been stationed in many courts, the freedom of the rulers reduced, their armed forces disbanded and their revenues and territories taken away by stages.

2. The Company decided to end the Mughal dynasty. In 1849, Governor-General Dalhousie announced that after the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar the family of the king would be shifted out of the Red Fort. In 1856, Governor-General Canning decided that Bahadur Shah Zafar would be the last Mughal emperor and after his death, his descendants would be recognized as princes.

Question 6.
What impact did Bahadur Shah Zafar’s support to the rebellion have on the people and the ruling families?
Answer:

People became greatly inspired by the news that Bahadur Shah had supported the rebels. They saw a ray of hope to throw out the oppressive and exploitative British rule.
Most of the ruling families had lost their territory under different British policies. They hoped that the British would be defeated and they would get back their territory.

Question 7.
How did the British succeed in securing the submission of the rebel landowners of Awadh?
Answer:
The British succeeded in securing the submission of the rebel landowners of Awadh by providing them inheritance rights, i.e. they would enjoy the traditional rights over their land. The British also exempted them from taxes.

Question 8.
In what ways did the British change their policies as a result of the rebellion of 1857?
Answer:

The ruling chiefs were assured of their territory.
Adoption of son as heir was allowed.
The proportion of Indian soldiers in the army was reduced and that of Europeans was increased.
In the army proportion of Gurkhas, Sikhs and Pathan was increased.
Muslims were treated with suspicion and hostility.
The British decided to respect the customs, religions, and social practices of Indians.
Policies were made to protect landlords and zamindars and their rights over lands.\

Let’s do

Question 9.
Find out stories and songs remembered by people in your area or your family about San Sattavan ki Ladaai. What memories do people cherish about the great uprising?
Answer:
(1) There are several stories about the brave works of some people during San Sattavan ki Ladaai.
“There was a Courtesan in Kanpur. He was linked to a Hindu Military Subedar who rebelled in 1857. When during the course of the revolt, the rebel Subedar fell to the bullets of the British, the Courtesan Azizun Nisa mobilised women to form a band of troops. She represented this band as its military Commander and participated in the war of independence with full vigour along with Begam Hazrat Mahal and Tantia Tope.”

(2) Many of our elders say that they came to know from their grandfather about the Hindu-Muslim unity during the war of independence of 1857. There was a Hindu priest, who did not allow even Hindus from lower castes to enter the temple premises. But, during the fight of 1857 several Muslim rebel soldiers found their shelter in his temple. He personally took care of these soldiers. He told that service to the motherland was superior to everything. Even today people cherish this incident in our area. Below is given the immortal flag song of 1857 :
We are its flowers, Hindustan is ours Our nation is sacred, dearer than heaven World is aglow with the light of its soul How old, how new, best of all world Our very own, Hindustan is ours Flow of Ganga and Yamuna, makes our land fertile
Overhead snow-clad mountains—
Our sentry towering
Below, trumpets of Sea, beating against coasts
From mines gold and diamond overflow Our pomp and splendor, best in the world Then came firangi from far land Cast a magical spell Looted our dear land with both hands Today, the martyrs call upon the whole nation— Break the shackles of slavery, pour out fire Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, all beloved brothers This is the flag of our Freedom Hail and salute it.

Question 10.
Find out more about Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi. In what ways would she have been an unusual woman for her time?
Answer:
Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi played a vital role in the revolt of 1857. She fought bravely with the British force. She challenged the British law which had debarred her adopted son from being the ruler. She was one of the great forces behind the revolt against the British. The matchless courage that she showed is rare.